Thoothukudi

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Thoothukudi v • d • e Tamil Nadu, India
Thoothukudi
District(s)	Thoothukudi
Coordinates	8.72° N 78.12° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	4,621 km² (1,784 mi²) • x m (Expression error: Unrecognised word "x" ft)
Population • Density	216,058 (2001) • 46.75/km²
District Collector	Dr. R.Palaniyandi I.A.S.
Codes • Postal • Telephone • UN/locode • Vehicle	• 628xxx • +91 (0)461 • INTUT • TN 69

Coordinates: 8.72° N 78.12° E

Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி in Tamil) also known as Tuticorin, is a city and a municipality in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The city is also known as "Pearl City". It is a seaport which serves southern Tamil Nadu including the inland cities of Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelveli. It is one of the oldest cities in India with the history dating back to the 6th century BCE. Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District.

[edit] Origin of Name

There are three theories as to the origin of the name:

Thoorthu (Dig) and Kudi (Drink)- The town had no rivers and the only source of drinking water was from wells.
"Thoortha" means land "reclaimed" from sea while "Kudi" also stands for "settlement" or "colony". Hence "Thoortha Kudi" or Thoothukudi could mean a settlement built on land reclaimed from sea.
Finally, the Tuticorin name was used by Dutch people who were here, and now its called "Tuticorin" in English and "Thoothukudi" in Tamil.

[edit] History of Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi is traditionally known for its pearl fishery and shipbuilding. It was the seaport of the Pandyan kingdom. Thoothukudi became the center of the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, with such leaders as the poet Subramanya Bharathy, Kattabomman, and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. In 1906, the great freedom fighter of India, V.O.Chidambaram Pillai with the help of Bal Gangadhar Tilak (also called as Lokmanya Tilak) launched the first Swadeshi ship "S.S. Gaelia" from this port town in British India. The major harbour of Thoothukudi is well known as a pearl diving and fishing center. Thoothukudi is one of the old sea port in the world as sea port for Pandyan Kingdom after Korkai and later was taken over by the Portuguese in 1548, captured by the Dutch in 1658, and ceded to the British in 1825. (Courtesy - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001). The lighthouse built in 1842 marked the beginning of the history of Thoothukudi harbour development.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Thoothukudi is in South India about 540 km south west of Madras(Chennai) and is geographically located in the Gulf of Mannar.

The district of Mannar]] (Bay of Bengal), south and southwest by the district of Tirunelveli, west and northwest by the district of Virudhunagar and north by the district of Ramanathapuram. The total area of this district is 4621 km². The administrative headquarters is an urban agglomeration and also one of the taluk headquarters within the district.

The district of Thoothukudi was carved out as a separate district in the year 1986 as a result of bifurcation of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu State.

[edit] Climate

Tropical climate. Hot and humid.

[edit] Irrigation

There are no big reservoirs in this district so the Papanasam and Manimuthar dams—located in the Tirunelveli district under Tamirabarani system—are the main sources of irrigation. Other than the Tamirabarani river, the river Vaipar in Vilathikulam taluk, the river Karumeni which traverses through Sathankulam, and Tiruchendur taluks also act as sources. In Ottapidaram taluk there is one small reservoir at Eppodumvendran village.

[edit] Civic administration

Thoothukudi city officials
Member of Legistlative Assembly	P. Geetha Jeevan, D.M.K
Chairman	Kasturi Thangam
Collector	Dr. Palaniyandi PhD IAS
Superintendtent of Police	John Nicholson

[edit] Economy

The economy of Thoothukudi is based on industries, port, salt pans, and agriculture.

[edit] Industry in Tuticorin

Thoothukudi has a host of industries including power, chemicals, fisheries. The Industries in Thoothukudi are: 1. One Sipcot Estate , SIDCO Industrial Area & Co_operative Industrial Estate, maximium factories are situated. 2. Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS). 3. SPIC fertilizer plant 4. TAC fertilizer plant 5. Darangadara Chemicals (DCW), Arumuganeri. 6. Heavy water plant. (A unit of BARC). 7. NFC (Nuclear Fuel Complex) - Titanium & Zirconium sponge plant. 8. Transworld Garnet Industries. 9. AVM JumboBags (SIPCOT). 10. Sterlite Copper Industries. 11. Ramesh Flowers. 12. Nila Sea Foods. 13. St. John Freight Systems Limited. Kilburn Chemicals, 14. Madura Coats 15. Export of Senna leaves (medicinal value). 16. Salt industry. 17. Tamilnad Merchantile Bank. (Headquarters). 18. Windmills at Mullakkadu. 19. Tuticorin Port Trust. 20. Machado & sons - Freight systems 21. Villavarayar & sons - Freight systems 22. VVD Coconut oil manufacturing. 23. JeniRich India Agri Trading Company - Salt Exporter. 24. Venus Home Appliances, the makers of Venus Water Heaters 25. Diamond Shipping Agencies P Ltd - Freight systems 26. TutySoft Private Limited [1] [2]

The availability of skilled labour, major port, electricity generating plant, container facility has made Tuticorin a major destination for industry and business. Sethusamudram project, the airport at Vagaikulam, Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant, improved road and rail infrastructure and Nanguneri SEZ is expected to make Tuticorin a hot destination for business investment.

[edit] Port

On 11th July 1974,the newly constructed Thoothukudi port was declared as the 10th Indian major port and is second largest port in Tamil Nadu and third largest container terminal in India after JN Port (Mumbai) and Chennai. Thoothukudi is a natural port. This is the third international port in Tamil Nadu and its second all weather port.^[1] Due to its strategic location in the southern peninsula and assured round-the-clock operations, the port has been the nerve centre of economic activity in south Tamil Nadu. The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project—a project to create a shipping channel through the shallow Palk Strait to allow larger ships through—is headquartered at the Port of Thoothukudi ^[2]. The port currently handles 7% of the total container traffic in India and is an important reason for investment in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

The port is badly in need of expansion to handle the increase in traffic. The two container berths in the port are of dimension 370m length and 10.9m depth. This limits the port in competing against Colombo port, as it has 15m depth. The Tuticorin Port Trust is investing $1 billion for expansion. This will be done in two phases, the first will deepen the harbor to a depth of 12.8m and the second to increase it to 14.5m. The current list of upgradations include expansion of outer harbour, increasing the depth to 14.5 metres, construction of breakwaters, and lengthening the approach channel.^[3] The port has been upgraded to handle vessels longer than 245m. The advantages of deploying bigger vessels are that the existing restriction on booking can be eliminated and the transhipment at Colombo port can be reduced. The Tuticorin port has the potential to be an international container transhipment hub given its unique geographical location.^[4] It is currently growing at a rate of 17% per year over the last 5 years. A large portion of the operations in the port has been privatized, including the first container terminal handling by PSA Sical.^[5] Tuticorin port is becoming a gateway for South India to the US, Europe and Mediterranean following direct sailings to these regions. Of the total exports from the port, 25 per cent was to Europe, 20 per cent to the US, 20 per cent to East Asia, including China, 15 per cent to Colombo, 10 per cent to West Asia and the rest to the Mediterranean.

This port has been chosen to be an undersea cable landing station.^[6] The optical fibre cable, will run between Mt Lavinia (Sri Lanka) and Tuticorin (325 km) with an initial bandwidth of 20 gigabits per second, later to be upgraded to 160 gigabits per second. This will promote the IT investment in South India by improved telecom infrastructure.

The port is also helping increase the tourism in the region. A new ferry has been commenced between Tuticorin and Colombo.

[edit] Salt Production

The district constitutes 70% of the total salt production of Tamil Nadu and 30% of India.

[edit] Agriculture

Paddy is cultivated in the Srivaikundam, Sattankulam and Tiruchendur taluks. Cumbu, Cholam, Kuthiraivali and other pulses are raised in the dry tracts of Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam, Ottapidaram, and Thoothukudi taluks. Cotton is cultivated in Kovilpatti, Ottapidaram and Thoothukudi taluks. Groundnut cultivation is undertaken in Kovilpatti, Tiruchendur, and Sattankulam taluks. Groundnut cake is being used as manure and cattle feed. Palmyrah trees are grown mostly in Tiruchendur, Srivaikundam, Sattankulam and Vilathikulam taluks. Jaggery is produced from palmyrah juice; the production of jaggery is the main occupation of the people of Tiruchendur and Sattankulam taluks. Banana and other vegetables are raised in Srivaikundam and Tiruchendur taluks. The road going towards kulayankarisal from thiruchendur road has banana farms on one side and a salt farm on another side; water cannot be seen anywhere as each farm needs a different type of water. Thoothukudi is the largest exporter of Banana in Tamilnadu

[edit] Transport

Airport - is at Vagaikulam [From April 1, 2006, Airdeccan started daily flights to and from Chennai]. The Airport runway is being extended to facilitate landing of large airplanes and the night landing facility will be established soon.
Port - One among twelve major ports of India. It has one of the best container terminals in India and is operated by the Port of Singapore.
Rail - Connected by Broad Gauge Rail [Tirunelveli, Chennai, Mysore,Bangalore,Madurai and Trivandrum]. Tuticorin City Railway Station is declared as a Model Station and several infrastructure developments are under process.
Road - Connected by National Highways with Madurai and Tirunelveli. At present the three roads connecting Thoothukudi with Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Ramnad are being converted into four laned highways.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^GRIndia Thoothukkudi had a population of 216,058. Current population is about 600,000. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Thoothukkudi has an average literacy rate 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%; female literacy, 79%. In Thoothukkudi, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Education

Tuticorin has many primary and secondary schools, 4 UG and PG degree colleges, one govt medical college, one govt & one private polytechnic college, and one govt & one private ITI. The biggest schools are The X'an matriculation school The Vikasa School, KAMAK Hr. Sec School, S.A.V Hr. Sec. School, St. Marys Boys Hr. Sec.School, Caldwell Higher Secondary School, Victoria Girls Hr. Sec.School,Star Matric Higher Secondary School, St. Francis Xavier Higher Secondary school, St. Thomas Higher secondary school, Subbiah Vidyalaya Boys & Girls School, Spic Nagar Higher Secondary School, Holy Cross Girls' Higher Secondary School and Holy Cross Anglo Indian School. There is also a Government Fisheries Institute teaching & doing extensive research in marine life and a government maritime academy. Tuticorin Government Medical College started few years back.

[edit] Media

Tuticorin town has around 7 local TV Channels. In which the most popular and interactive Channel is "SATHYA" and the creative owner of this channel is Sathys Agency.

Almost all the local TV channels covers the local news and it helps in the development of Tuticorin Town

[edit] Sports

Moses Jeevanandam , old student of Caldwell Hr. Sec. School represented India in Basket Ball.

Shalini , old student of St. Mary's College , represented India in Beach Volley Ball.

Kamaraj , old student of St. Xaviers Hr. Sec School , represented India in Volley Ball.

Many others represented India in various games like weight lifting Fencing and Hockey

Tuticorin and its surroundings are also called as Nursery of Volley Ball.

During 80's , Basket Ball Coach in Tuticorin Town, Renga Chari , called as "Chari" created many Basket Ball Players in this region. Moses Jeevanandam is one among them.

[edit] Notable people from Thoothukudi

Veerapandiya Kattabomman was a chieftain who refused to bow down to the demands of the British for agricultural tax on native land and laid down his life for the cause of independence. The fight he launched in Panchalankurichi has been hailed as the inspiration behind the first battle of independence of 1857, which the British called the Sepoy Mutiny.

Subramanya Bharathi, Poet - The great Tamil poet Subramanya Bharathy is from Ettayapuram in the erstwhile Tirunelveli district before the Thoothukudi district was carved out. He composed poems foreseeing India's freedom, many articles on many subjects, and the unity of India in spite of its variety in languages, religion and cultures.

V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, one of the freedom fighters of India, who in 1906 launched the first swadeshi ship S.S. Gaelia in British India. [3]

Cruz Fernandez, - the municipal chairman, who was responsible for bringing water from Vallanad to Tuticorin. He did many things for Tuticorin development.

JLP Roche Victoria, Former state minister and who pioneered the Vallanad water project which is the lifeline of Tuticorin.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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